He moved closer, and then his veiled face snapped back to her.
“Where did you see it?” He took a step toward her.
Liane backed away, frightened by his intensity and the crackle of power that emanated from him. “In a dream,” she lied on impulse. Or was it a lie? She wasn’t sure what was real and fake anymore.
“Dreams are powerful portents. What you saw is the ancient being of twilight and dawn, master of balance. What else did you see in your dream; did it speak to you?”
Mouth dry, her throat clenched tight on her words. Her back thrummed like the beat of a drum as she started to shake her head. Every instinct was telling her to run, to get as far away as possible.
“I don’t remember. It was nothing but a fever dream. Forget I said anything.” Liane turned to run, but he grasped her forearm, stopping her.
Shock burned through her as it had when she touched the arrow, but this time it was accompanied by images flashing through her mind, moving too fast to absorb: a child’s hand grasping a golden sword, a moonlight forest, black and white antlers and then a sudden bright flash of light obscured her vision. Liane gasped and pulled away from the Avatheos.
That burst of light had darkened her vision, and for a moment, she was disoriented and fumbling. Her chest heaved with panic, while her scar burned that same searing pain she’d felt in the forest as if her back might split open.
“What did you see?” the Avatheos asked, grabbing hold of her shoulder, squeezing much too tight.
“Please, you’re hurting me.” Liane gasped.
And then, suddenly, he let her go, and the pain subsided. The Avatheos took a step back from her.
“Forgive me; I shouldn’t have pushed you when you were unwell. Let me escort you back to your room.”
She had no choice but to go with him, but she noted the Avatheos was careful not to brush against her even casually. The guards were surprised when she arrived with the Avatheos but didn’t ask questions as she went back to bed. As she lay down to sleep once more, her thoughts raced, trying to make sense of what had happened. She felt as if she were going insane. Perhaps she’d pushed herself too hard too soon after a fever, but a niggling thought at the back of her mind refused to agree.
14
Erich’s hand lingered on his dagger as the guard took it from his unwilling grip.
“If I find one scratch on its hilt, I’ll open the veil and unleash darkness, I swear,” Erich said.
The guard rolled his eyes before motioning him through the gate, and simultaneously ushering the next in line, Ivar, forward.
“Is this necessary?” Ivar asked as a guard turned his velvet hat inside out.
“Empress’ orders,” the guard said as he handed back Ivar’s crumpled hat.
“They can’t risk letting you sneak weapons in that voluminous hat of yours, Ivar,” Erich said.
“I’m glad you’re amused, your majesty,” Ivar grumbled as he adjusted the feather on his hat.
Erich craned his neck to watch as his beloved dagger was handed off and then placed into a back room.I’ll be back for you soon, he thought. There’d been too many close calls lately, and he’d brought it unthinking to the palace, forgetting the strict no-weapons policy. Running his thumb across the bottom of his heavy signet ring, he debated if reclaiming his identity, no matter how temporary, was a mistake. His plan, already fraught with uncertainty, was taking too long. And he had precious little time left before the full moon.
But getting into the palace to search for the sword was harder than he realized. Few were allowed in without invitation, even princes, and had he not been the one to find Liane at the ruins, he might not have gotten an invitation inside again. A stroke of good luck. But before they met for his luncheon with the empress, he had to find where she kept the sword.
Invitation presented and their persons searched, Ivar and Erich were allowed at last into the palace courtyard by the guards. Ivar stomped ahead, muttering about indignity as he smoothed out his hat. Erich fell behind, scanning the palace grounds. He noted the four defense towers, one at each corner of the palace. The closest one to him appeared to house the Royal Guards, a defensible place to hide a precious object like the Golden Blade, but Erich also knew Empress Eveline wasn’t so careless as to leave the sword with mere palace guards.
“Years I’ve spent trying to get an audience with the empress, years. And in the span of an afternoon, you’ve been invited personally,” Ivar said, grumbling, as he looked at Erich sidelong.
When Erich had returned to the embassy the night of the masquerade covered in manure, Ivar didn’t ask questions. When Erich asked to go to the sunrise rites, despite not worshipping their sun goddess, Cyra, he said nothing. Ivar must suspect Erich was plotting something, but he wasn’t a fool.
“What can I say?I’m rather charming,”Erich replied distractedly.
A cloud moved over the sun, and the air suddenly crackled with the threat of a summer storm as a company of Midnight Guards marched past him. Erich’s jaw clenched as he watched them march over to their tower, opposite the Royal Guard tower. If he were Empress Eveline, he’d hide the sword there with the most elite guards in the capital. But walking in there was a suicide mission.
Five days before the next full moon. Five days left to steal the sword.No time to waste, but before he did something reckless, he was going to search for an alternative.
“Go ahead, Ivar, and mingle. I’ve got something to do.”
